Stars Laura Main & Jenny Agutter on How 'Call the Midwife' Carries On

Who would expect that when Call the Midwife premiered a decade and a half ago, we’d still be enamored with the nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House all this time later? We’ve watched Trixie (Helen George) graduate to become a senior nurse, wife, and mother. Nurse Turner (Laura Main) left the Order to start a family with Dr. Turner (Stephen McGann), and we’ve seen countless other nurses come and go throughout the series, all under the watchful tutelage of Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) and Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt). 

When asked what keeps fans returning to Midwife year after year, series stars Laura Main and Jenny Agutter were united in their response: series creator Heidi Thomas. 

“It’s absolutely down to the writing. Heidi Thomas is such a marvelous writer, and she taps into a universal experience,” Main told Telly Visions in a recent interview. “Yes, it’s set in the East End in Poplar, but it’s the themes of these scenes. The themes are sadly relevant…It connects audiences around the world. It’s about family and love, and it’s really nice to see the good side of the thing and the challenges. It works on so many levels.” 

Agutter was full of similar praise for Thomas, who has shepherded the series through the fourteen seasons and moved Poplar through fifteen years of medical discoveries and radical social change. 

“What I’ve always been amazed by and enjoy enormously are Heidi Thomas’ stories. Who could believe what we’re living with this year? It makes one’s head spin to think of how many difficulties there are,” Agutter elaborated, adding that Thomas’ skill with making the issues of yesteryear feel relevant – Season 14 tackling a measles outbreak, for example –  is what makes Call the Midwife so popular. “What Heidi does is year after year, we have wonderful new discoveries, medicine changes, and science changes. The economic and social situations change. As an actor, I’ve seen Sister Julienne in many different circumstances.” 

Sister Julienne’s position within the Order and at Nonnatus House has changed, but Main has played Nurse Turner through her nun days, early nurse training, and starting a family of her own. Seeing the character go through those massive changes has kept Main returning to play her every season, and she suspects the audience is just as intrigued. 

“It’s not repetitive. It’s fresh, and it’s interesting. It changes all the time. It’s never stagnant or the same. She’s gone on a huge journey, and that’s been lovely to go from playing a nun to questioning that vocation to falling in love with the doctor. Then, she had fertility issues and challenges, but they started a family anyway. Now they have this huge brood with a stepson, adopted daughter, a biological son, and a foster child as well,” the actress said. “There’s many different aspects to her. It’s lovely to see her confidence grow as she becomes more comfortable in her new identity, which was what she wanted. They are such a lovely family, and it’s a nice treat for me to work with all those actors, big and small.” 

Call the Midwife tells human stories across the spectrum, from the heartwarming and uplifting to the painfully tragic. That broad scope of storytelling allows a massive audience to find themselves or something to connect to in the series. The linear timeline of the series also allows the audience to grow with the show as it moves through the years. 

“Because we move forward a year with each series, it’s always getting to stay fresh. It’s fun to see the different times. It’s always very historically accurate, and so on. A medical issue won’t be touched on if it’s not relevant,” Main continued. “I feel really proud of what the show has highlighted. That’s heartwarming and uplifting, but it can be very emotional, so it also touches on the difficult times we face as well.” 

Even as Nonnatus House continues to face new issues, Call the Midwife shows no signs of slowing down. 

Call the Midwife Season 14 continues on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on most PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. The series has already been streaming as an early weekly release on PBS Passport for members since Friday, February 28, 2025, and will stream the finale in mid-April. The series will stream on the PBS app and the PBS Masterpiece Channel weekly through mid-May. As always, check your local listings.